Just so you know, it’s not that I’ve been avoiding the topic of San Francisco real estate – in fact, there’s all sorts of action happening. But I’ve been too swamped juggling offers, upcoming listings and escrows to effectively write about it. I, and just about any other SF Realtor, can tell you things are picking up here in the SF market, but I’ll save that for another day.

Today, I wanted to share a little video with you and ask for your help.

We all know that rodents can be a nuisance. They are destructive, cause property damage, and have inspired more than one cartoon where a woman jumps up on a table and screams.

And while you don’t want the little (or big) critters in your homes, rat poison is not the answer!!!!

Meet Curbie. Curbie was found on the Curb (thus the name) after street sweeper one day. Curbie didn’t look well. He was docile. Not like your average wild rat. My boyfriend chased him across the street to some bushes so he’d at least have some cover – we live down in the Outer Sunset by Ocean Beach and there’s a hawk on just about every block down here, and they’re all competing for food with the neighborhood kitties.

A few days went by, and Curbie still wasn’t doing very well. He was still in the same spot where my boyfriend had left him. And he wasn’t acting very wild. He looked sick.

So, my boyfriend captured him, put him in a box and started to feed him hoping he’d get better. After doing some research, it began to look pretty obvious that Curbie was poisoned. Feeling bad for the critter, and not wanting to watch him suffer, we began looking for help, and found it at Wildcare an organization that works “to make sure all species can coexist– not just by treating sick or injured animals (over 3,000 of them a year), but also by teaching people how to live peacefully with wildlife and by advocating for better protection of wildlife and our remaining open spaces”.

Curbie, thanks to the friends at Wildcare, made it out ok. His release video is above, and if you don’t pay attention, you’ll miss him – he’s THAT fast, THAT fiesty, and THAT much better.

But there are other Curbies out there and the rat poison problem doesn’t lie so much with the rodents themselves (though, really, if you think it’s an acceptable to leave an animal to die slowly by internally bleeding for a week or more, you’re pretty much an A**hole), but lies in an even bigger problem – the fact that prey feed on the rodents and then they, too, get sick and die.

Every year WildCare admits predatory animals like hawks, owls and foxes that have eaten rodents poisoned with anti-coagulant rodenticides (rat poisons).

The rodenticides currently on the market are advertised as “strong enough to kill in one dose,” and they do kill rats (slowly and painfully of internal bleeding), but it can take up to seven days for the rodents to die.

In that time, a desperate rodent can enter the food chain and carry the deadly poison to any animal that picks him up as an easy meal.

That hawk or owl dies too unless proper treatment can be administered immediately.

And second – donate to Wildcare. They do a lot more than just rescue wild animals like Curbie. They offer an interactive experience where people can truly understand what it means to co-exist with wildlife around us, even here in San Francisco.

And Curbie? Well, as you can see, he’s got a second chance at life. And the singing at the end of the video? Yeah, that’s me. Let me know if you know anyone ready to cut me a record deal. 😉

According to KCBS, San Francisco is the vainest City in the United States. Now, JoMama, a commenter on KCBS’s story so eloquently puts, “It’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in everyway.” (JoMama’s statement is so awesome, that I’m going to pretend she really spelled “every way” and not “everyway” – but hey, we NEED a little Wabi-Sabi to REALLY be perfect, right?) 😉

The article goes on to say:

A survey by the online magazine The Daily Beast ranks the city by the Bay as the most vain city in the country, more narcissistic than New York or Los Angeles.

The survey’s criteria compared how much people spend on personal trainers, spas and cosmetic products, and where the populations rank on the obesity scale.

Healthy San Francisco aside, the KCBS and Chronicle Insider believes banning toys in Happy Meals and similar legislation under the rule of two consecutive glamorous mayors, Willie Brown and then Gavin Newsom, only make the city seem that much more self-absorbed.

SFist also picked up the story. And they didn’t try to dispel the myth of SF’s perfection (and c’mon, we know San Franciscan’s are perfect – even our gas smells like roses!), they did point out that vanity, actually has NOTHING to do with “how much city residents spend on average a month on personal-care products and services such as cosmetics and spa treatments; the percentage of the city’s population not overweight; and the percentage of the population that belongs to gyms.”

In fact, vanity has to do with excessive pride in one’s appearance or conceit (ok, have you SEEN the folks at Critical Mass, for instance? conceited? really? self-righteous, maybe, but conceited?), or something without real significance, value, or importance. (Um, I don’t see how maintaining a healthy weight to try to keep from having a heart attack is without value or significance.)

San Francisco homeowners have a new way of paying for solar panels, energy-efficient appliances and low-flow toilets.

A new city-run program, GreenFinanceSF, will give San Franciscans the money to pay for such projects up front and let them pay it back through installments on their property tax bills. Berkeley pioneered the idea in 2007, and since then, hundreds of cities, counties and states have adopted their own versions.

That’s great news for you, your pocket, your carbon footprint, global warming and all that. If you’ve been thinking of making some environmentally friendly upgrades to your home, you may have just run out of excuses. 😀

According to a Facebook update (yes, I’m Gavin’s FB friend, I’d like to think we’re actually really close and he reads my status updates and laughs. 😉 ):

[Mayor Newsom] just announced an agreement with the Navy to transfer Treasure Island (TI) to San Francisco. The development of TI will create thousands of jobs and one of the most environmentally sustainable developments in US history.

So if you’re a real estate developer planning on, say, selling any awesome new green developments in the next 50 years in that area and need an awesome San Francisco realtor, give me a holler so that I can fit you into my business plan. 😀

I love the San Francisco Zoo. In fact, I love it SOOOOO much that every time I help someone buy or sell San Francisco real estate, I donate a part of my professional fees directly to the Zoo.

Prior to my career in the SF real estate biz, I actually used to work at the Zoo, and I strongly believe in their mission of education AND their mission of conservation, not only on a big scale (like when they were a part of the program that brought Bald Eagles back from the brink of extinction) but on a small scale as well, by hosting e-waste recycling events, and teaching people the importance of living a greener lifestyle.

So, on that note, the SF Zoo has shared a few tips for a greener holiday season in their latest Animail:

1. GIVE THE GIFT OF A ZOO MEMBERSHIP – THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING ALL YEAR LONG! Cross an entire family off your shopping list at once with the click of a mouse!

There are many Membership Levels for you to choose from for your gift – all of which pay for themselves in only two visits.

Your friends and family will be surprised to receive such a unique, thoughtful and useful gift. Plus, you have the added satisfaction of supporting a good cause as our Members are a critical source of support for the care of our animals and our conservation and education programs.

Recipients will be thrilled that they can skip the ticket line and visit as often as they like for an entire year. No more pressure to get their admission tickets’ worth by making a fussy toddler stay past his nap time. They can even drop by this urban escape by the ocean on their lunch break to see what’s blooming in the gardens and take a few photos. No two visits are ever the same – they can watch our Zoo babies grow up and build priceless memorable experiences that will last a lifetime. Their family will become closer with each visit to ours.

Thank you for supporting this historic Bay Area family institution that serves to connect people with wildlife, inspire caring for nature and advance conservation action.

2. SEND CARDS AND INVITATIONS ONLINE. The holidays don’t just have to be about buying trees – they can be about saving them, too! There are many Web sites that offer electronic greeting cards and invitations to your holiday events.

3. MAKE YOUR OWN WRAPPING PAPER. Most mass-produced wrapping paper you find in stores is not recyclable and ends up in landfills. Instead, here’s a great chance to get creative! Wrap presents with old maps, the comics section of a newspaper, or children’s artwork. If every family wrapped just three gifts this way, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

4. BUY ENERGY-SAVING “LED” HOLIDAY LIGHTS.Now you can decorate your house with LED lights that use 90 percent less energy than conventional holiday lights, and can save your family up to $50 on your energy bills during the holiday season! LED lights are available at many major retailers, including Target, Costco, and Ace Hardware.

5. GET A PESTICIDE-FREE TREE. Demand is on the rise for Christmas trees that are not covered in chemicals; some growers use 40 different pesticides, as well as chemical colorants. The good news is that there are now a number of tree-farms that sell pesticide-free trees, so ask your local Christmas tree seller, or search for an organic tree farm near you.

6. RECYCLE OR COMPOST YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE. Ninety-eight percent of Christmas trees were grown on farms, not in forests, so at least it’s not as if you’re cutting down an ancient tree. Each year, 10 million Christmas trees end up in the landfill. Many cities offer programs to turn your tree to mulch or wood chips. Call (800) CLEANUP or visit www.earth911.org to find the tree-recycling program near you. If you live in a city like San Francisco that has a compost program, you can cut up your tree and put the pieces in your compost bin.

The problem is that stores aren’t using the biodegradable starch based bags and instead are using paper bags – a big problem for tree lovers and trees alike. The problem is that while a paper bag won’t sit in landfill for thousands of years like a plastic bag will, it actually takes more energy to make a paper bag than a plastic bag.

Stores can then charge anywhere from $0.10 to $0.25 a bag for the starch based bags. It’s what they do in Europre and people just accept it!!!

People will learn that you either need to pay up or bring your own bag. And stores can stop bitching that the starch based bags are too expensive and cut into their profits.

In Europe, everywhere I went I wasn’t handed a bag unless I asked for it, AND paid for it. And no one complained.

My suggestion – bring your own grocery bags to the store with you.

What? You say you don’t have any reusable grocery bags? Give me a holler – I’ll hook you up with a free canvas grocery bag while I’ve got ’em.

I apologize, but I am no longer shipping the bags outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. In fact, I actually no longer ship the bags at all. I either drop them off locally, or leave them at my office for people to pick up.

The bags are to help people “go green” but the amount of energy it takes to ship something as small as a canvas bag across the country is very wasteful, as is the packaging required to ship it.

There’s all sorts of hazards that a home might contain. You might be in earthquake territory (which is pretty much all of San Francisco), you might be in a high radon area, and you might have two of the MOST common hazards we see here in the City – lead and asbestos.

The folks from www.asbestos.com contacted me to see if I’d be willing to share their advice on asbestos with you… and since it sounds spooky and scary, and it IS almost Halloween, I couldn’t think of a better time to post this.

Living in the 21st century, many cities are adapting to the new green paradigm, updating old homes and buildings to suit the needs of a healthier environment and home. With a growing amount of education and technology in eco-sustainable resources, the state of California is leading the way towards a green paradigm of building and construction. It is important to take note of the consequences of improper building materials and environmental degradation.

Many homes, buildings and public facilities built prior to 1980 may still contain asbestos and other hazardous materials. The mineral’s flame resistant and durable qualities once made it an ideal choice for insulation, piping and roofing by manufacturers. Asbestos exposure can be easily prevented by taking simple precautions. This obsolete building material can easily be replaced with green methods of insulation that can even reduce annual energy costs!

Asbestos Tips and Info

If any asbestos is suspected or located in the home, the best advice is to leave it un-disturbed and un-touched until a professional can determine the proper course of action. Many times the simplest and easiest way of dealing with asbestos IS leaving it undisturbed, and better yet, encapsulated. Disturbing asbestos in good condition may cause its fibers to be released into the air. Prolonged exposure to airborne asbestos fibers can potentially lead to the development of related lung ailments such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive form of asbestos cancer that accounts for three percent of cancer diagnoses in the United States. Due to the fact many mesothelioma symptoms are similar to less serious ailments, Diagnosis of mesothelioma is one of the more difficult tasks physicians encounter.

If asbestos should be removed, it is recommended homeowners have licensed abatement contractors perform the removal. They are licensed and trained in handling hazardous materials.

In San Francisco, living green isn’t just an option, you’re pretty much going to be tarred and feathered if you DON’T think about your carbon footprint on a daily basis and do something proactive about it. And frankly, tarring and feathering is exactly what you deserve if you can’t make a little change to positively impact our amazing City, and our fragile planet.

Fortunately for you, you can avoid the whole tar and feather process with a few clicks of a mouse… or at least that’s where it starts.

OK, so you won’t get paid for ALL of your E-waste (remember, what you can’t get paid for, you can dump safely at the SF Recycling’s Hazardous Waste center.) If you’ve got an old collection of cell phones, laptops, desktops, computer monitors and other electronic gadgets, www.Gazelle.com will actually PAY you, YES! Pay YOU! for your used electronics. Good for your pocket, good for the world.

LEARN ABOUT THE IMPACT OF FOOD, TOYS AND MORE

Do you ever look at your shampoo bottle and wonder just how socially responsible it is? You better if you’re a San Franciscan! (Lest I remind you that you WILL be tarred and feathered!) Well, you can check out www.GoodGuide.com to get information on over 70,000 food, toys, personal care, & household products to see just what kind of an impact the products you use are having on our environment, from the San Francisco sewage system to the ozone in general. AND find alternatives that ARE good for you and for the environment in general!

BUY LOCAL PRODUCE

We all know that eating locally is good for you, but we don’t always know where to go to get local products. If you don’t have the route to your SF neighborhood’s farmer’s market memorized by heart, along with days and hours of operation, you can find the closest ones by going to www.LocalHarvest.org. From farmer’s markets to personal beekeeping services, you WILL find what you need to eat local.

LEAVE A SMALLER FOOTPRINT

I’ve hit on a few ideas here that can get you started on a low impact lifestyle, but there’s always more you can do. www.LowImpactLiving.com tells you how. According to their site:

At Low Impact Living, we want to help you lower the environmental impact of your home and your daily life. To do that, we help you find the best green products, practices and service providers to help you achieve your environmental goals. And we will also help you understand the environmental benefits and economic trade-offs of your choices. Our primary goal is to make the path from inspiration to implementation as short and as smooth as possible. Only by taking action will we collectively reduce the damage to our planet and ecosystems.

LUBA’S SAN FRANCISCO REAL ESTATE BLOG

OK – I’m cheating and throwing in a bit of self-promotion here, but it’s my blog and I’ll do what I want! 😉 For a limited time, I’ll be providing FREE, yes FREE, reusable canvas grocery bags for San Francisco residents. To keep MY carbon footprint low, I won’t be mailing them, packaging them or whatnot. They’re available for local pick-up or delivery – limit 2 per San Francisco household while supplies last. The first 30 people also get a free reusable water bottle!

Want YOUR free canvas grocery bags (and potentially free water bottle if you act fast)??? Email me at [email protected] And don’t worry about your information – you won’t be signed up for any annoying SPAM or mailing lists – unless you want to! 😉

Have a green day, San Francisco!

OH! And P.S – if you have more green resources for SF residents, drop a note in the comments or email me!

I got stuck parking a litle further from my Zephyr Real Estate office than usual today. But I guess it was one of those serendipitous sorts of things.

I’ve been trying to go “green” just like everyone else is (or should be) doing. So I was pretty excited to stumble on green11.

Located at 3980 24th St at Noe, green11 has all sorts of organic beauty products AND biodegradable cleaning supplies.

Big whoop, right? Even Target sells those, right???

Well, green11 lets you bring in your OWN container, that’s right, ANY container and they fill it up for you from their big bottles full of organic and biodegrable goodness. So that Tide detergent bottle you have? Bring it on down, fill it up with some eco-friendly detergent, feel good about being green and then go home and do some laundry.

My favorite part???

Their “business cards” are scraps of brown paper bags that have been cut down and their business info is stamped with a rubber stamp.

Anyhow – it’s just one more EASY way that you can reduce your footprint on our precious planet.

The benefit will take place in San Francisco – at the Aquarium of the Bay – in the evening of Friday, November 20th, 2009, from 7:30pm – 12am. Attendees will be able to visit the Aquarium tanks/tunnels during the event. Cocktail Reception kicks off at 7:30pm. Live Auction begins at 9:00pm. Silent Auction bids end by 9:00pm. Music and dancing follows.

Celebrity guests, artists, designers and pro-surfers are expected to attend. Daniel Castro Band www.danielcastro.com and Marc B. will www.marcbmusic.com will perform at the Aquarium of the Bay.

After-Party at the Hard Rock Café, at Fisherman’s Wharf, from 12:00am – 2:00am ~ Live Music by “Surprise” Surf-Celebrity & Musician.

Paddle-Out – Saturday, November 21st, 2009.In the morning of November 21st, at 9:30am, local surfers, ocean conservationists, animal & life lovers will perform a Ceremonial Paddle-Out, led by Rochelle Ballard, Pro-Surfer & Yoga Instructor (“Surf Into Yoga” DVD), at Crissy Field East Beach/Parking Lot. This will be an ocean and land ritual to offer prayers for all ocean creatures and sea-life protection.

The morning Paddle-Out Ceremony will be followed by an opportunity to speak to sea life protection and environmental non-profit organization representatives about their causes and quest to preserve the ocean and sea life. Paddle-out will be free and open to the public.

Yoga-Session – Sunday, November 22nd, 2009.
On Sunday, November 22nd, a Yoga Session will be led by Rochelle Ballard, at the San Francisco Bay Club. RSVP required and $15.00 suggested donation will be reverted back to IASL’s 2009 Fund to be distributed to beneficiaries. Rochelle Ballard’s new “Surf Into Yoga” DVD’s, www.surfintoyoga.com, will be available for sale and proceeds donated back to the cause.

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About the Blog

Luba’s San Francisco Real Estate Blog was created to share insights about San Francisco Real Estate and about San Francisco living. Written by Luba Muzichenko, an "almost-native" San Franciscan and a local Realtor® with Zephyr Real Estate, Luba’s San Francisco Real Estate Blog is meant to inform you about a variety of good things and happenings around SF and its unique neighborhoods, about buying and selling homes in the City and about the real estate market in general. If you like what you see, please tell a friend.